Application of platform-based product development to complex products and systems : a multi-case study of some saab’s systems

Abstract

The processes involved in the development of new products inside companies is challenging, and internal competition for resources (human, financial and top-management support) between the different projects within a firm occurs with loss of consistency and focus. For this reason, the adoption of a platform-based development is an essential enabler both for bringing up to date existing products and for generating entirely novel products. (Sköld and Karlsson, 2013) When high cost and high engineering Complex Products and Systems (CoPS) are considered, the importance of the platform perspective for product innovation increases, reflected on the number of custom-built components, the scope of knowledge and skills necessary and the degree of new knowledge involved in the production (Hobday, 1997). For singular cases like military equipment, the CoPS’ acquisition processes are usually different from the assumptions of the market theory. For weapons acquisition, the market tends to be duopolistic or even monopolistic, highly bureaucratized, politicized and regulated, with almost none private financing. They also have a strong role of the buyer (as user and specifier of weapons systems and as a procurement actor) and with the pricing-definition largely defined before the design of the equipment for each specific transaction. (Hobday, 1997; Templin,1994) Aligned with these concepts, the purpose of this thesis is to explore the management decisions related to CoPS platforms over time, through a study of several product platforms, including its derivatives, improvements, additions to product family and the evolution between generations. A multiple case study of five product platforms within the context of the Swedish defense industry were conducted to answer the purpose of the research. The systems (Carl-Gustaf, AT4, BILL, NLAW, and Gripen) were selected with knowledgeable representatives from Saab. One important criterion is that the platforms have been continuously modernized and improved to fulfill different armed forces’ needs, in highly demanding environments. The research is qualitative and based on retrospective semi-structured interviews, with knowledgeable representatives about the product platforms. The results of this thesis indicate that the translation of platform methods to CoPS is not easily made, in particular for military products and systems with all peculiarities of the Defense Industry (such as sovereignty power of users and limited market). However, CoPS firms can have advantages from applying platform strategies, such as the standardization and use of off-the-shelf components and subsystems and the adoption of modularity with the segregation of critical functions in separated modules. In this sense, CoPS can be designed and produced using a product platform approach to reduce the life cycle costs while keeping the CoPS updated with new technologies to meet new and old customer needs.